Bam! Garage door over-the-door torsion spring snapped! How to replace?

UPDATE: I replaced the hinges without drama.

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I was confused whether the stamped number should go upward or downward but this DIY implies the slot goes upward:
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That DIY doesn't say why, but it does say this: "The two ends of the hinge have holes for the lag screws. The end with a slot in the hinge must be on top, while the end with just a hole must be on the bottom."

That means the numbers should be upside down. (Which means the prior installer goofed again!)

Reply to
Danny D.
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That is a terrible idea for many reasons.

One most obvious is that there will be no room to work!

Reply to
G. Morgan

The numbers do NOT go upside down.

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You put the rollers in the wrong slot dude. The rollers go in the bottom slot, numbers should be readable without standing on your head.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Here is a picture of the new #3 hinge mounted on the left side of the door:

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here is a full-size picture where you can see exactly what is:
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The previous (plastic) hinge had the roller in the lower slot, so that's why I put the roller in the lower slot. I see that's a mistake (I wonder what the difference is) - and I hesitate to retension sheet-metal screws but I think I must change that as you said.

However, this DIY says the slotted hole needs to go on top - but that would (counterintuitively) put the numbers upside down:

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I do agree that it's not logical for the number to be mounted upside down, so I'm confused about the direction of the hinge mounting. The instructions were worthless. I'll snap a photo of them and post so you see what I mean.

Reply to
Danny D.

I'm thoroughly confused now that I look again at the instructions that came with the hinges! (see pictures of instructions)

The instructions absolutely have to be WRONG!

NOTE 1: The instructions say to put the roller in the tube furthest from the door, but, the PICTURES in the instructions clearly have the roller in the tube closest to the door!

NOTE 2: The instructions make no mention of mounting orientation, and, worse yet, the diagram omits the assymetry of the hinge. That is, the diagram shows SYMMETRIC hinges! (which is wrong!)

Here are the instructions next to the hinge as I installed it:

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Here is the hinge just flipped the other way & the roller moved:
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NEITHER WAY fits the instructions!
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Here are the instructions verbatim:

  1. Close door completely. Keep door closed by fastening "C" Clamps on both the left and right door track against the top side of two rollers.
  2. Disconnect power and lifting arm of garage door opener.
  3. Unbolt hinge from door. Feed roller into new hinge, but furthest from door. Place wheel of roller into track and fasten hinge to door.

Yet, here is a closeup of the associated DIAGRAM (which directly contradicts the written instructions!)

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NOTE: I've scoured the net for DIYs and none of these garage door hinge DIYs mention the hinge orientation!
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When I look at a DIY building a garage door from scratch:
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can see WHY the hinge needs the slotted hole at top - but that puts the numbers (illogically) upside down then.

Reply to
Danny D.

UPDATE:

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I moved the roller to the tube furthest away on all the #2 and #3 replacement hinges (I had to use larger sheet-metal screws now).

Unfortunately, I have to disregard the package instructions (because they just can't be followed).

  1. I put the roller in the tube furthest from the door.
  2. I put the hinge with the 2 round holes at the bottom.
  3. Therefore the two slotted holes were at the top.
  4. This resulted in the numbers reading upside down.
  5. Unfortunately, the door now jams at the #3 position!

By that, I mean the door, which worked actually BETTER before I moved the roller to the tube furthest from the door, now it hangs up when the #3 hinge is near the curve at the top.

I have to hit the button twice or three times to get past that tightness at the #3 hinge at the top of the curve.

I don't know what is wrong yet.

Reply to
Danny D.

Don't use the operator to test, use you own hands so you can feel where it binds. Chances are the track is not adjusted properly. Can you loosen the track screws and pull the track further from the opening? If not, you can "cheat". Try a #2 hinge in the top section instead. (both sides). The whole point of different hinges should be obvious when you look at the way the track is mounted. It should be so when the door is closed, the roller stems can freely turn by your thumb and forefinger.

Reply to
G. Morgan

I agree. That's what I did.

I can't disagree. Dan Musick of DDM Garage Doors (800-383-9548) suggested I move the rollers.

I think that's because readjusting the track is problematic.

Yes. But.

If I move the vertical track backward (into the garage), the horizontal track also needs to be moved - and that's a lot of hardware.

Yes. I did cheat. Dan Musick suggested I put the #2 in the #3 position and that I bring down the #3 to the #2 location but switch tubes to the tube closest to the door. That seems to have worked.

I agree. But, it's only obvious that the track pitch is tilted back the same amount that the hinge wedges the door forward AFTER you know that. It's not obvious intuitively (someone must have gotten a patent on that wedging idea!).

THAT's the kind of practical hint we need! I'm not sure HOW to test whether the door is wedged just right. I assumed I should look for a vertical arrangement - but that's hard to measure.

I'm not sure about the test of the spinning wheels. Certainly they should not be too tight - but - if they're loose - how are they wedging anything?

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Reply to
Danny D.

Update.

In the words of Richard Kinch in his canonical DIY, I installed a torsion spring and lived to tell the tale.

My assessment was that the tools necessary were minimal, and that the effort required was also minimal. Other than the winding of the spring itself, everything was actually trivial. The winding was trivial in terms of effort - but dangerous in terms of cost of mistakes.

Interestingly, the winding force needed was muuuuch less than I was led to believe; I would assess that a normal guy would have no problem winding the 0.250" 36-inch-long spring that I just wound using 1/2" eighteen-inch-long steel bars.

The hardest part was keeping count for 30 quarter turns because I stopped every 10 turns to snap a photo for you guys.

Here's a photo at the zero-turn point. Notice I've lined up the tools I'll need at the 30 turn point (namely a marker, a mallet, & a 3/8" open- end wrench).

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Can you find the mallet in the picture?

Here's what a quarter of a turn does to the white painted line:

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Here's a stop at 10 quarter turns (notice the spring grows longer).
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it didn't grow longer after 6 quarter turns, you have it on backward!)

At 20 quarter turns, the force is just starting to get strong - but you can rest any time you like as the force holds the 18-inch bars in place:

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Lastly, here's the 30 quarter turn mark - where I then marked the nine- foot bar about a quarter inch out, and used the mallet against the 18- inch bar to push the winding cone to that marked point before tightening

3/4 turn with the 3/8" open-end wrench.
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I think I wound it about 1/4 turn too much as the door goes up too easily by hand (with the opener disconnected) and will keep moving a foot or so on the upswing - so I'm going to re-adust it by removing 1/4 turn - but other than that, there was none of the drama that makes for a good story.
Reply to
Danny D.

Two minor problems.

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One is that the gap on the right side is about 1/4 inch when the door is closed. This, I think, is because I had left the pickefork in place and didn't realize the implications.

The picklefork, if you remember, was used to raise the 130 pound door to weight it - but I had lazily left the picklefork in place.

So now I'm following these instructions on how to level the door:

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The other problem is the spring is wound about a quarter turn too tighly, so I'll tackle that separately.

Reply to
Danny D.

That's where you got dangerous. Leaving an unused winding bar in the collar without holding it The collars aren't infallible. If the winding bar doing the holding broke out or slipped out, anybody in range of the other bar could be in a world of hurt.

Reply to
Vic Smith

I don't disagree. The whole thing does not seem as dangerous as it really is, simply because there is no difficulties. Of course, were something to break or slip - THEN - it would be over in a flash.

The good news is that I just fixed two of the three problems I found after I was done.

  1. The door wasn't level (now fixed as per below).
  2. The spring was 1/4 turn too tight (now fixed as per below).
  3. The bracket is being forced to bend (not good - no solution yet).
  4. The door was 1/4 inch too high on the right side (probably due to my mistake of leaving the picklefork under the door) so I lowered it by 1/4 inch by loosening the cable drum as per this wonderful "Leveling Garage Doors" DDM DIY:
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    Here is a before and after photo of the door, perfectly leveled now: BEFORE LEVELING:
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    LEVELING:
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  5. The spring was about 1/4 turn too tight as the door was shooting upward at the midway point - even though it stayed at the bottom and middle if you didn't move it. So, I simply unwound the spring by 1/4 turn as shown here:
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  6. The bracket is bending! It's only held in with a single bolt! There is no bushing nor a bearing. It just doesn't look like it's mounted correctly. This is the topic of a more recent thread so I only mention this problem here.

Other than that third problem, which isn't of my making, although I wish I knew to look for it BEFORE the spring broke ... I would consider this, my first torsion spring R&R DIY a success.

Thanks to everyone for your advice & encouragement!

Reply to
Danny D.

FINAL UPDATE: Here is a quick writeup for another person like I am who had never replaced a garage door torsion spring before today.

First, it is helpful if you read this entire thread BEFORE your spring snaps (and particularly notice the things that I WISH I had noticed before the spring snapped). Namely ...

  1. Check your hinges (mine were broken on my larger door)
  2. Measure your spring (write the size on the wall)
  3. Check your garage door level (mine was 1/4" tilted after the spring)
  4. Check the balance (mine was 1/4 turn too tight after the new spring)
  5. Lubricate moving parts (results in a more peaceful operation)
  6. And, most important: Check your center bracket with the door up & down! (Mine appears to have been improperly mounted.)

I won't go into the details of the issues above since they're already well covered in the associated thread.

What I will say is my 'impression' of the job - now that I've joined the ranks of those who have actually replaced a garage door torsion spring.

First off, you MUST read the Richard Kinch garage door torsion spring DIY!

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logic is impeccable.

But, do not follow Richard's DIY (it's too difficult a read); follow Dan Musick's DIY over here (and buy the torsion springs from Dan also!): ONE SPRING:

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TWO SPRINGS:
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Buying from Dan allows you to call him - and he always picks up the phone! Buy the two solid steel bars from Dan also - he's cheaper than anyone else other than a big box store - but you only save a buck or two by not using Dan so I used him to ensure I had the right sized tools.

Now comes the big revelation (now that I've done it): Replacing a torsion spring isn't hard at all. In fact, unless something breaks or slips (or you do something stupid), it's entirely trivial to replace a garage door torsion spring!

As you can tell, I read every DIY I could find, and I called Dan quite a few times to ask questions. I upgraded my spring to a thicker spring with more than double the original duty cycle. Total cost was around $75 for the spring, cones, solid winding bars, and shipping. It would have cost $150 to $200 to have someone else do it - although it would have NOT taken the two weeks it took me to learn all that I learned.

Had I replaced with the original spring size, it would have saved me only $10 or $15 ... so the cost of the spring is negligible.

The real cost (and satisfaction) of a DIY is the effort expended to learn how a garage door really works.

For example, it was new to me that the tracks are pitched backward the same amount that the hinges are graduated forward - in order to wedge the door tightly against the elements.

Also, it was new to me that the hollow rod across the doorway actually moved side to side, as the door opened and closed.

Likewise, it was news to me that the torsion spring is what lifts the door - the opener simply provides direction (and a tiny pull or push).

Before this job, I didn't know how to maintain a garage door. Before this job, I didn't know how to check for broken hinges. I didn't even know how to look for proper garage door alignment.

All this (and more), you'll learn when you replace your first garage door torsion spring!

In the end, after reading and doing, I would say this is an EASY job. Almost a very easy job!

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's about a 2 on tools required (all you need is a 9/16ths & 3/8ths inch open-end wrench, two large vise grips, and two 18" long 1/2" diameter solid steel winding bars) and about a 2 or

3 on expertise required (assuming you read Richard's & Dan's DIYs).

HOWEVER YOU SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT READING THOSE DIYs!

It's too easy to make a mistake - but - if you simply follow Dan's DIY, you can't make a mistake unless you don't follow his directions!

The force you need was minimal. I would say every red-blooded American male easily has the strength to wind a 0.250" thick two-inch ID torsion spring 30 quarter turns as I just did.

At no point did I 'feel' threatened by the spring - although I took all precaution that Dan recommended (safety glasses, safety zone, etc.).

Yes, something could go wrong. But, if you asked me, I'd say I'm more afraid of operating a chain saw on a tree than replacing a torsion spring. I'd be more afraid about removing a bee's nest. Or sliding down a slippery slope on my back.

This job is really not as frightening as people make it out to be. To be sure, I did read about all the broken bones (Dan had a few stories of his own) and the impalements and the death that can occur - but I have to say, I followed directions - and I never felt an oh-shoot moment. It was actually undramatic.

So, in hindsight, I would recommend this job to anyone willing to read the DIYs and willing to follow them and willing to doublecheck each step. If you're willing to do that, you'll know your garage door better - you'll have better springs - your door may be better balanced - smoother operating - and your hinges will be in better shape.

Thanks to everyone! Good luck to all.

Reply to
Danny D.

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Might be nice to rewrite subject line to make it easy to search for on usenet archives. But, I'm not sure what it currently says using my abbreviated title using my usenet reader for iPad.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

Nice job. Don't know if you mentioned the option of going to 2 springs. Ran across it trying to understand the torsion forces.

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Reply to
Vic Smith

Thanks for the pointer.

That DDM 1-spring-to-2-springs page is fantastic.

I had opted for one spring with a very high duty cycle; but, in hindsight, I SHOULD have opted for the more balanced set of two springs (which wouldn't even have cost any more).

It turns out that the one spring is twisting my bearing plate off the wall!

Two springs would not have twisted the plate because they would cancel each other out. Sigh.

Lesson learned (too late) after the fact!

Reply to
Danny D.

It's no big deal. I used to do it all the time when I worked on the cable drums. Just make damn sure the winding bar is seated all the way in.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Good job. I'm glad you asked a lot of questions and took safety seriously.

Reply to
G. Morgan

You would love it when I go to replace a door and how I 'unwind' the old springs. I just stick a winding bar in there and lift it a couple of inches to let it rest on the door. Then I loosen the locking bolts, get down from the ladder and put vise-grips on the winding bar - shake back and fourth a couple of times and yank it out! Makes a hell of a racket, but it's easier than unwinding it by hand.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Nah, the same amount of force is distributed across the torsion bar. That's why I told you to prepare to re-lag the bearing plate instead of going back in the same holes @ the same angle. If you angle the lags in to get more 'bite' in the header, it will hold better.

Reply to
G. Morgan

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